Corn and Soybean Conditions Continue Slight Decline

According to the latest crop progress report from USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, the condition of the nation's corn crop has dipped just slightly yet again.

"We saw the percentage of corn rated good to excellent slip three points in the last week, now 57% good to excellent and 17% very poor to poor," USDA Meteorologist Brad Rippey said. "A week ago those numbers were 60% and 15% respectively. Last year 70% of the crop was good to excellent and just 10% very poor to poor."

Rippey says areas on the outer fringes of the Corn Belt are having the biggest impact on the overall condition of the crop.

"We now see at least a quarter of the crop rated very poor to poor in Indiana as well as Kansas, Missouri, and North Carolina," Rippey said. "Also the majority of the crop in Texas, 68%, so we are still continuing to see quite a few problems with the corn as we head through the fill stage of development."

As for the soybean crop, 97% is in bloom. That's even with the five-year average, but like corn Rippey says conditions continue to slide a bit.

"We've seen the conditions slipping below 60% good to excellent, now standing at 59%, and 14% very poor to poor " Rippey said. "A week ago those numbers were 61% and 13% respectively. Last year 64% of the crop was rated good to excellent at this time, just 13% very poor to poor."

Also like corn Rippey says the problem areas are outside the Soybean Belt. He notes 40% of the Kansas crop and 27% of Missouri's crop is rated very poor to poor.

Meanwhile cool weather and wetness earlier in the season has winter wheat harvest lagging in the Northwest.

"Harvest has not even reached the halfway point in Idaho at 47%, the five-year average pace there should be 75%," Rippey said. "Montana also with quite a bit of harvest remaining, 79% harvested, which is behind the five-year average pace of 82%."

Oregon and Washington are well behind the five-year average pace as well. Just 71% complete in Oregon where the average is 94%; 53% in Washington where the average pace is 82%.

Overall though, Rippey says 94% of the nation's crop is harvested. That's just slightly behind the five-year average of 97%.

However, Rippey says the spring wheat harvest is further behind, with 29% harvested compared to the five-year average of 56%.

Rippey says 62% of the spring wheat crop is rated good to excellent and just 10% very poor to poor. Last year at this time however 82% of the crop was rated good to excellent and only 2% rated very poor to poor.